Christian and Muslim Spirituality

What is Spirituality?

Spirit- in Hebrew: Ruah; Latin: Spiritus ; Greek : Pneuma ; Sanskrit: Prajna – all mean both breath and spirit, refers to life-force, the basic energy of being, - symbolically, spirit is the breath of life.

Spirituality has to do with the fundamental propelling forces of our lives, our most profound loves, passions and concerns. It is the wellspring of our sense of meaning and of our will to live, the source of our deepest desires, values and dreams. It is the living heart of all the great world religions and each faith tradition proclaims that the essence of spirituality is love.

Christian Spirituality:

Christian Spirituality as a set of beliefs, values, and a way of life that reflect the teachings of the Bible. A spirituality that relies on the power of the Holy Spirit to live according to God’s will.

“We need to help others to realize that the only way is to learn how to encounter others with the right attitude, which is to accept and esteem them as companions along the way, without interior resistance. Better yet, it means learning to find Jesus in the faces of others, in their voices, in their pleas.”Pope Francis(E.G.91)

Islamic Spirituality:

Islamic Spirituality is a path to holiness by which a Muslim, by internalizing the spiritual richness found in Islamic life and practice, is gradually transformed into a person who desires to respond to God’s grace with faith and love and to do God’s will in all things.

Characteristic s of Islamic spirituality: 1) A Qur’an Centered Spirituality; 2) The path to holiness in the pillars

of Islam ;3) Spiritual life in imitation of

Muhammad ; and4) The Sufi path to holiness.

A Qur’an-Centered Spirituality:Reading, reciting, listening

to, studying and reflecting on the Qur’an make up a great part of the devotional life of Muslims. As Muslims believe the Qur’an to be the literal word of God, God’s own speech, their encounters with the Qur’an are for them meetings with God who reveals, teaches, and forms believers in holiness.

Every Muslim is expected to memorize portions of the Qur’an. A Christian scholar has underlined the importance of memorizing the Qur’an for Muslims by likening it to a Christian’s reception of the Eucharist.)

The Path to Holiness in the Pillars of Islam:

1. The profession of faith (al-shahada). The profession of faith in the Oneness of God and the prophethood of Muhammad is that which constitutes a person, a member of the Islamic community (umma). “There is no god but Allah”. “Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

When a baby is born, the parents immediately whisper the profession of faith into the child’s ears, so that the first human words heard will be those that make the child a Muslim. In Islam there is no rite of initiation comparable to Baptism. A new convert to Islam professes the shahada in the presence of witnesses and thereby becomes a Muslim.

The Path to Holiness in the Pillars of Islam:

2. Ritual daily prayer (al-salat). The salat is not a lengthy prayer and can be accomplished in less than 10 mins.. the timing of the prayer is significant. The prayer is a reaffirmation of submission to God at the key moments of the day: at dawn; at high noon, midafternoon, after sunset and in the evening before retiring. The prayer may be compared to Christian monastic practice of the recitation of the Divine Office.

A characteristic of salat is that it is accompanied by fixed bodily postures. The positions of the body, culminating in the full prostration with forehead, hands, and knees touching the ground, symbolically represent submission to Allah. The ritual opens with the praise: “Glory to God and sing His praise”. By proclaiming the glory of God, the Muslim believes that he/she is joining the heavenly chorus of angels who continually proclaim God’s glory. Praising God(al-hamdu li’llah) is a common expression which Muslims make at times of joy, good fortune, and more surprisingly, tragedy. The idea is that all things that happen, both good and bad, come from God and God should be praised in them all.

The heart of the ritual prayer is the recitation of the Fatiha, the opening chapter of the Qur’an followed by an “Amen” in loud voice, and the recitation of the Qur’anic verses. The Fatiha sometimes regarded as the equivalent of the “Our Father” among Christians.

The Opening(Fatiha) In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful. All praise belongs to God, Lord of all worlds. The Compassionate, the Merciful. Ruler of Judgment Day. It is You that we worship, and to You we appeal for help. Show us the straight way. The way of those You have graced, not of those on whom is Your wrath, not of those who wander astray.

Closely connected with the idea of praise is that of thanksgiving. The Qur’anic verse: “Give thanks to the gracious God, if you are His worshippers(16:14)” The action of thanksgiving for the Christian is called Eucharist..

In the salat, as at every recitation of the Qur’an, Muslims take refuge in God from the temptation of Satan. The notion of “taking refuge in God’s mercy” , is familiar to the 3 O’clock Divine Mercy prayer of Christians.

The Path to Holiness in the Pillars of Islam:

3. The tithe for the poor (zakat) Every Muslim is required to give a fixed percentage of income for the poor of the community. It differs from almsgiving(sadaqa). The manner of collecting and distributing zakat varies widely in the Islamic world.

Caring for the poor of the community is not a matter of choice, mood, or feelings of sympathy. It is required duty for every obedient Muslim. Any relationship to God or life of prayer, fasting, and other acts of worship that do not include the element of concrete assistance to the poor of the community is not a fully Islamic response to the Qur’anic message.

The Path to Holiness in the Pillars of Islam:

4. Fasting during the month of Ramadan. The key elements for Islamic spirituality in the Ramadhan fast are remembrance, celebration, communal solidarity, spiritual renewal, forgiveness, and exposure to the experience of hunger.

Remembrance that the Qur’an was first revealed during the month of Ramadhan. During the last week of Ramadhan, on the Night of Destiny when the Qur’an is believed to have been sent down from heaven, and when the Day of Judgement is popularly expected to arrive, Muslims are encouraged to spend the entire night in the mosque, reading the Qur’an, listening to its recitation, and performing recommended prayers.

A second element is celebration and social solidarity. Communal performance of a long and difficult fast, with many periods of prayer, followed by communal celebration, creates a strong sense of social identity.

Ramadan is a time for renewal and forgiveness. A time for repentance , a characteristic it shares with the Christian Lent. Muslims believe that through the faithful practice of Ramadhan, all their sins are forgiven.

The Feast of the Breaking the Fast(Id al-F’itr) is celebrated. The Id is the spiritual New Year of Islam, the new beginning and starting over. Having forgiven by God. Muslims are taught to forgive one another.

The aspect of Ramadhan fast is the experience of hunger. Muslims who suffer from hunger during daylight hours are asked to recall the fate of millions of persons in this world who lack sufficient food. An experience of conscien -tization towards the plight of the hungry. Muslims are urged to address concretely the problems of hunger and starvation.

The Path to Holiness in the Pillars of Islam:

5. The Pilgrimage to Mecca(hajj): The opportunity to make the hajj to Mecca sometime during one’s life is the longing of every pious Muslim. The pilgrimage is a reliving of the spiritual roots of their faith. Mecca is not only the scene of Muhammad’s birth and early prophetic mission but, as the site of the Ka’ba., the direction towards which all Muslims pray daily.

The preliminary rites of the pilgrimage revolve about Mecca, particularly the circumambulation of the Ka’ba, as Muhammad and his early Companions had done, and commemorative reenactment of events from the life of Abraham, Hagar and the baby Ismail.

The central and indispensable act of the pilgrimage takes place on the slopes of Mt. Arafat, 30 kms. Outside Mecca. It was there that Abraham was ordered to sacrifice his son Ismail and the site of Muhammad’s final sermon.

To understand the deep spiritual implications of a rite in Arafat is to know the geography of the place. It is in the midst of the Arabian desert, is one of the worlds most arid, hot and inhospitable locations, and has been since the time of Muhammad. There is no earthly reason why anyone would go there, only the motivation is spiritual.

Islamic Spirituality as Imitation of Muhammad:

An important aspect of Islamic spirituality is the imitation of Muhammad. He is understood in the Qur’an not only as the Messenger but also as its first hearer. He is the model Muslim whose life was shaped to the smallest detail by the Qur’anic message. He is their friend and mentor who will intercede for them on Judgement Day.

Elements of Islamic Spirituality not found in the Qur’an are recorded in the hadith. The hadith are collections of Muhammad’s sayings, deeds and decisions. The sunna are recommended actions practice by Muhammad such as ritual acts, on prayer and instructions on mundane affairs such as receiving guests, eating, traveling, carrying on business, family relations even performance of bodily functions.

It is sunna to offer cologne to guests. It is sunna to eat everything on one’s plate(i.e. not to waste food) It is sunna to say at the conclusion of a journey, “Praise God for a safe arrival” (al-hamdu li’llah ‘ala salama)

The Qur’an and sunna form the principal bases of the shari’a, the Islamic way of life. It covers every aspect of human life, from family relations, to th social, economic, and political organization of the community.

The Sufi Path to Holiness:

Islamic Spirituality is commonly known as “sufism” or ‘tasawwuf’ in Arabic.

Sufis, spiritual teachers of Islam. They stressed the need for a simple, prayer-centered life and adopted many of the harsh ascetical practices of the Christian monks of the desert. The Sufi would have to learn humility, obedience, poverty, patience, diligence, temperance in matters of food and sex, etc. The Sufis knew the Dark Nights described by the Christian mystics of the Carmelite tradition. The Sufi had arrived at the Truth, the ultimate goal of human life, a union of life with God.

One of the most distinctive characteristic of Sufi spirituality is their dev’t of Qur’anic injunction to “Remember God often”(33:40). The word dhikr means “remembrance” and can refer to a wide variety of short, repeated prayers. A form of dhikr is the rosary(tasbih), recites on each bead one of the Beautiful Names of God. The Sufi Way: It is quite simple, we love each other, we love GOD, and GOD loves us and that is all.

The Road to Islamic Spirituality:

We can use two (2) Arabic words that denote the focus of the activity. 1.) Al-qaib, the heart, purification of the heart,2.) Al-nafs, the self-ego, rectification of the self

Necessity for progression along the path of Spiritual growth. 1.) Faith, Allah alone is His Master, Sovereign

and Deity 2.) Obedience, accepts subservience(Islam) submission to Allah 3.) Allah-consciousness, to observe the distinction between lawful and unlawful, right and wrong, good and bad in life. 4.) godliness, highest excellence in words, deeds and thoughts identifying his will with the will of Allah and harmonizing it.

Faith (mu’min). . .> Obedience (muslim). . .> Allah-consciousness(muttaq). . .>godliness(muhsin)

The Growth to Christian Spirituality:“ The fruit of Silence is Prayer, the fruit of Prayer is Faith, the fruit of Faith is Love, the fruit of Love is Service, and the fruit of Service is Peace.”(Mo. Teresa of Calcutta)

Silence…. . .> Prayer. . . . ..> Faith. . . . ..> Love. . . . ..> Service. . . . . .> Peace (salam)

6 Articles of Islamic Faith;: to be a Muslim one must believe in:

1. One God 2. The angels of God 3. The books of God, esp.

the Qur’an4. The prophets of God,

esp. Muhammad 5. The Day of Judgment(or

the after life) 6. The Supremacy of God’s will(or predestination)

12 Articles of Catholic Faith: The Apostles’ Creed

6 Precepts of the Church:

1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and on holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.

2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.

3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.

4. You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence

established by the Church. 5. You shall help to provide for the

needs of the Church. 6. You shall observe the laws of the Church concerning marriage.

The precepts of the Church concern the moral and Christian life united with the liturgy and nourished by it.

Comments from Prof.Wadja K. Esmula, Acting Dean of Institute of Islamic Studies University of the Philippines about the book written by Fr.Thomas Michel,S.J., “A Christian Looks at Islamic Spirituality”, published by Silsilah,1997.

- A fact that a leader of the Christian church positively writes about Islamic spirituality is a proof of enlightenment. It is a manifestation of a cultural understanding between Muslims and Christians.

- I wish to point out why the Qur’an is in Arabic. Islam is a universal religion. This is clear from the Qur’an and Muhammad’s preaching. But, it is true that Muhammad was an Arab sent to preach God’s Message in the first instance to Arabs. The Arabs were not a “chosen people” but Arabic was in some sense God’s “chosen language.” “It is sent down as an Arabic Qur’an”(Q,12:2). In fact the first verse revealed to Prophet Muhammad was entitled, “Iqra” meaning “read”(Q,96:1)

- The equivalent of the Qur’an in Christianity is Christ himself as the word(logos) of God. If Christ is the Word made flesh, the Qur’an is the Word made Book.

- The medium through whom the Word is given to humanity is, in the case of Islam, Muhammad, and in the case of Christianity, Mary. Both received the Word from Gabriel.. Both are traditionally regarded as pure or purified vehicles of revelation: the Prophet as being unlettered, free from the taint of human worldly learning, Mary as immaculate., free from the taint of human desire.

Both are regarded as chosen esp. by God as the best creatures worthy to be vehicles of the Divine Word. The Holy Qur’an says; “referring to Mary, God has chosen you and purified you – chosen you above the women of all nations”(Q.3:42) The Qur’anic word used for chosen is istafa, and a common title for the Prophet is al Mustafa, the chosen one.

- Islamic spirituality extensively manifested in the pillars of Islam and the Christian spirituality manifested in Mary and Jesus should serve as the breeding ground by Muslims and Christians to eradicate the monstrous domination of materialism, so that humankind could attain perfect happiness both in this world and in the Hereafter.